Skip to content

Movies like The Sign of Death (1939)

The best movies like The Sign of Death (1939) are Dead (2020), The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) and Doctor X (1932). If The Sign of Death hooked you with its comedy and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Dead (2020)

    Dane ‘Marbles’ Marbeck can see ghosts, thanks to a homemade drug: his late father’s neurological medication mixed with marijuana. Officer Jayson Tagg, a wannabe super-cop on the trail of a serial killer, ends up murdered. So when Marbles’ mum plans to sell the family farm, and the only way of buying the house off her is taking the money offered by Tagg in exchange for his help, Marbles accepts. The unlikely duo of stoner medium and ghost cop struggle to reconcile their differences while they navigate their way through ghouls, perverts, a mysterious hooded figure, and an unexpected shot at love. It becomes clear the only way Marbles and Tagg will solve the case with their souls intact is to confront their deepest regrets and overcome their prejudices.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  2. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

    After a team of surgeons botches his beloved wife's operation, the distraught Dr. Phibes unleashes a score of Old-Testament atrocities on his enemies.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. Doctor X (1932)

    A wisecracking reporter investigates the cannibalistic 'Moon Killer' murders tied to a medical academy, culminating in a chilling reenactment experiment.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. The Ring (2002)

    Journalist Rachel Keller investigates a strange videotape that may be behind the untimely deaths of four teenagers. There is an urban legend about this tape: the viewer will die seven days after watching it. Rachel tracks down the video... and watches it. Now she has just seven days to unravel the mystery of the Ring in order to save herself and her son.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  5. Saw X (2023)

    Between the events of 'Saw' and 'Saw II', a sick and desperate John Kramer travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer, only to discover the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable. Armed with a newfound purpose, the infamous serial killer returns to his work, turning the tables on the con artists in his signature visceral way through devious, deranged, and ingenious traps.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  6. Game of Werewolves (2011)

    After 15 years, Tomas, a not very succesfull writer, comes back to the village in Galicia where his family comes from, Arga, apparently to get an award. But he doesn't know the real reason why he is there, to end with an old curse that is been haunting the village for the last hundred years.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror

  7. Re-Animator (1985)

    Conducting clandestine experiments within the morgue at Miskatonic University, scientist Herbert West reveals to a fellow graduate student his groundbreaking work concerning the re-animation of fresh corpses.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  8. The Day of the Beast (1995)

    When a rogue priest discovers the exact date the Antichrist will be born, he enlists a Death Metal record store clerk and a cheesy TV psychic for an urban spree of gore, sacrilege and twisted humor to prevent the Apocalypse.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  9. The Frighteners (1996)

    Once an architect, Frank Bannister now passes himself off as an exorcist of evil spirits. To bolster his facade, he claims his "special" gift is the result of a car accident that killed his wife. But what he does not count on is more people dying in the small town where he lives. As he tries to piece together the supernatural mystery of these killings, he falls in love with the wife of one of the victims and deals with a crazy FBI agent.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  10. Porno (2019)

    When a group of naive teens working at a movie theater in a small Christian town discover a mysterious film hidden in its basement, they unleash an alluring succubus who gives them a sex education…written in blood.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. Blacker Than the Night (1975)

    When four women move into an old house left by one woman's aunt, strange things begin to happen. Bizarre voices, visions of ghosts, and mysterious noises lead them to discover the darkest powers of evil and a horror and agony beyond terror.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  12. The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)

    A noted professor and his dim-witted apprentice fall prey to their inquiring vampires, while on the trail of the ominous damsel in distress.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  13. Witching & Bitching (2013)

    A gang of gold thieves land in a coven of witches who are preparing for an ancient ritual... and in need of a sacrifice.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. The Chalk Line (2022)

    After a couple finds a traumatized child of unknown origins, wife Paula must decipher the girl's strange behaviors to unlock her identity and dark past.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls (2023)

    Onyx joins a group of fellow occultists to attend a dark ritual at the mansion of their idol, Bartok. Suspecting Bartok’s nefarious intentions, Onyx is suddenly immersed in a world of monsters, mystery, and mayhem.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. Night Monster (1942)

    Kurt Ingston, a rich recluse, invites the doctors who left him a hopeless cripple to his desolate mansion in the swamps as one by one they meet horrible deaths.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Song of the Thin Man (1947)

    While attending a glamorous jazz cruise on New York’s East River, Nick and Nora Charles witness the fatal shooting of a wealthy patron. When suspicion falls on a young bandleader and his musicians, the couple steps in to clear their friends and uncover the real killer. Their investigation leads through a lively world of jazz clubs, radio personalities, high society, and backstage rivalries, where almost everyone has a secret and the next clue may be hidden in the music.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. Saw (2004)

    Two men wake up to find themselves shackled in a grimy, abandoned bathroom. As they struggle to comprehend their predicament, they discover a disturbing tape left behind by the sadistic mastermind known as Jigsaw. With a chilling voice and cryptic instructions, Jigsaw informs them that they must partake in a gruesome game in order to secure their freedom.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. The Return of Doctor X (1939)

    When news reporter Walter Garrett arrives at the hotel room of bombshell actress Angela Merrova to conduct an interview, he finds her dead from multiple stab wounds. He returns with the police to find the hotel empty and the body vanished. Garrett writes about the incident but is fired when Merrova, alive and well, goes to the paper to complain. Now his only chance to get his job back is to find the truth, which involves the grisly scheme of a madman.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  20. La Leyenda de los Chaneques (2023)

    Five years after giving up his powers and separating from his friends, Leo San Juan has started a new life trying to focus on his family and their bakery, staying away from danger and adventures. However, Leo knows that his plans are rarely fulfilled and this time is no exception: while traveling with Nando to Veracruz, things start to get weird, and from the depths of the Tuxtlas jungle, an ancient curse has returned and only Leo can face it.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  21. Lord of Misrule (2023)

    When the daughter of the town's new priest goes missing during the harvest festival, a desperate search begins, uncovering the town's dark history and resurfacing tales of a mysterious, malevolent spirit that demands sacrifice.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery

  22. Living It Up (1954)

    Homer Flagg is a railroad worker in the small New Mexico town of Desert Hole. One day, he finds an abandoned automobile at an old atomic proving ground. His doctor and best friend, Steve Harris, diagnoses him with radiation poisoning and gives Homer three weeks to live. A big city reporter hears of Homer's plight and convinces her editor to provide an all-expenses paid trip to New York.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy

  23. Tamara Drewe (2010)

    A young newspaper writer returns to her hometown in the English countryside, where her childhood home is being prepped for sale.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy

  24. Gulliver's Travels (2010)

    Travel writer Lemuel Gulliver takes an assignment in Bermuda, but ends up on the island of Liliput, where he towers over its tiny citizens.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy

  25. Kaw (2007)

    On the last working day of Sheriff Wayne, his small town is attacked by blood thirsty ravens that eat human flesh. Meanwhile his wife Cynthia visits a farm where a Mennonite family lives to say farewell to her friend Gretchen and discloses a dark secret about the origin of the fierce ravens.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror

  26. Beauty & the Briefcase (2010)

    A freelance writer looking for romance sells a story to Cosmopolitan magazine about finding love in the workplace and goes undercover at a Finance Company.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy

  27. The Robber Hotzenplotz (2006)

    Somewhere in the Bavarian province the robber Hotzenplotz is up to mischief. One day he robs Kasperl's grandmother's coffee grinder. Since the goofy sergeant Dimpfelmoser sees little hope of finding the robber, Kasperl and his best friend Seppel decide to track down the robber themselves. With a ruse, they manage to find the robber's cave, but are then caught by Hotzenplotz, who sells Kasperl to the magician Zwackelmann.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy

  28. Santa Claus (1959)

    Pitch, the mean-spirited devil, is trying to ruin Christmas. Santa Claus teams up with Merlin the Magician and the children of the world in order to save the day!

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  29. How to Rob a Bank (2007)

    Caught in the middle of a bank robbery, a slacker and a bank employee become the ones who arbitrate the intense situation.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy

  30. Borderland (2007)

    Three college students, Phil, Ed, and Henry take a road trip into Mexico for a week of drinking and carefree fun only to have Phil find himself a captive of a group of satanic Mexican drug smugglers who kill tourists and whom are looking for a group of new ones to prepare for a sacrifice.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror

Like The Sign of Death and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The Sign of Death?

The closest matches to The Sign of Death are Dead (2020), The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) and Doctor X (1932). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The Sign of Death?

Start with Dead (2020), the closest match to The Sign of Death.

What is the highest-rated movie like The Sign of Death?

La Leyenda de los Chaneques (2023), rated 8.4/10 by 288 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The Sign of Death?

Lord of Misrule (2023) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there Spanish movies like The Sign of Death?

Yes: Game of Werewolves (2011), The Day of the Beast (1995) and Blacker Than the Night (1975).

How are movies similar to The Sign of Death chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Sign of Death, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

↑ ↓ to move · Enter to open · Full search page